The present invention relates, in general, to a device for tracking the path of the sun on a globe, and more particularly, to a sundial in the form of a globe, wherein the path of an image of the sun traverses the surface of the globe to provide an indication of the time of day and the month of the year.
The use of sundials of various forms to track the passage of time is an ancient art, and their use is well documented in early civilizations. Such devices still provide a fascination, and numerous designs have been produced over the years for displaying solar time. However, such devices do not readily show the location of the sun with respect to the surface of the earth during the course of a day, and thus do not present a graphic illustration of the progression of the sun. Thus, such devices do not provide a clear idea of the relative time at the location of the observer with respect to other parts of the earth.
Conventional sundials utilize a marker which casts a shadow onto the surface of a clock face, with the moving shadow providing an indication of the solar time at the location of the sundial. While such devices are useful, they do not help the observer to understand the relationship of various time zones around the earth, and thus have a limited educational value.